Just Goodbye
by Dragon Empress
Summary: (Pre-GS Imilshipping...but not really.) "Back in Imil, he was old and she was young. And they were a world apart, with a place in common." Sad ficcy.


ME: Hey, everybody! Yeah, this is another odd, friendshippy fic…this time between Alex and Mia. Though, it's most likely not what you'd think from that description… 

DISCLAIMER: IF I OWNED GOLDEN SUN, I WOULD HAVE MONEY. AND LOTS OF IT…I DON'T, AS IT HAPPENS, SO THEREFORE I CAN'T POSSIBLY OWN GOLDEN SUN. TAKE ALL YOUR LAWYERS BACK TO THE KENNELS! 

ME: Ahem. Anyway…this fic will definitely be my last one-shot for a very long time. (Waits for sad reaction, gets nothing.) Ingrates… 

CHIBI JENNA: As Dragon Empress was saying, the evils of exams shall shortly be upon her, taking up all her precious spare time. 

ME: Yup. So, this is the last for a while, folks…enjoy. 

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_The snow falls so cold, out here…_

He was always arrogant, it was his biggest fault. He was arrogant, and always bragging about it too. It should have made her hate him. But it didn't. 

She was lonely, it was the only thing that made her cry. She was lonely, and yet oh so idealistic and hopeful. It should have infuriated him. But it didn't. 

It was so strange; he was cold and wet, without tears. And she was warm and bright, just hidden under a torrent of water. He taught her things, taught her about survival and the like, taught her how to stop falling down and stand up instead. 

And she taught him things too, taught him about fairytales and love and religion, and other such things. 

_"Mia…do you honestly believe any of that rubbish?" _

_"Alex…I honestly do."_

But he still didn't. And he never really did. 

And he wasn't a brother to her, even though he seemed so…old a lot of the time. He was like a grand old tree, she thought sometimes. Like one of the snow-covered firs near the healer's Sanctum, he was might have been there for over a hundred years. He might never have really changed. 

Funny how it turned out that he never really did, in the end. 

But back then, back in Imil, he was old and she was young. And they were a world apart, with a place in common. 

And things began to change pretty quickly. 

_It's sunset…_

_"Will you come back?" _

_"I won't be gone long." _

_"You promise?" _

_"I don't make promises, Mia…you know that." _

_"So…what is this?" _

_"This is just goodbye." _

_"Just goodbye?" _

_"Just goodbye." _

Next day he was gone. And she didn't know where, or why. Only that she might never, ever see him again. It felt lonely once again, and she began to realise just how a person becomes cold without tears. 

Because she didn't cry then, and she won't now. 

_The sun shines, out here…_

And now it's all come to the end. And now she thinks she hates him, but doesn't really. She didn't hate him back then, and she doesn't now. 

But he's not a grand old tree anymore. No, last time she saw him he looked so…young. 

And now, in the sunlight, she realises that she might have changed, but he hasn't at all. 

And now, out here, she wonders if he's died, thinking that maybe it's better if he did. 

_The sun shines brightest, up here…_

The lights start to go out, so bright right before they're extinguished. He feels the glow, the last thing he'll ever feel…maybe. 

He would have felt a bit of remorse, if he had any heart left to feel. He might have cried a little, maybe just a solitary tear caught on his eyelash, if he still remembered how. 

He was cold and wet, without tears. Just like always. He never changed. 

But still, the last thing he remembers is her, his friend. And in his mind it's sunset again, and he can see her hair blowing in the wind once more. He can see the look on her face as he said those words, the last thing he ever said that had any meaning. 

_"Just goodbye." _

And the saddest thing is, he can't even find the strength to make them mean anything now. 

And in his mind, the snow falls again…so cold, out here… 

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ME: Well, there it is. This was my first attempt at characterising Alex too, and I don't think it turned out too horribly… 

Oh, and reviews are nice. (Blatant, shameless hinting.) I like them very much… 


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